Method of manufacturing the magnetic operation system used in a venetian blind or the like placed inside an insulating glass frame

ABSTRACT

A magnetic transmission system for an adjustable curtain installed inside a double pane window. Under full insulation condition of the double pane window, by use of two magnetic pieces separated by the glass, the rotation of the magnetic pieces will drive a pull cord, which will then effectively control and adjust the status of the curtain which is installed inside the window. The invention provides large transmission power in a small space. In addition to the typical thermal and acoustic insulation functions, the invention adds additional function of easy and flexible light adjustment. The invention can be widely used in different applications, such as standard home doors and windows, movable windows and large-scale windows, door and glass walls, skylights, etc.

[0001] This application claims priority from International Applicationno. PCT/CN01/00923 filed on Jun. 8, 2001 under the provisions of thePatent Cooperation Treaty.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a magnetic transmission system foradjustable curtains or blinds installed between the panes of a sealeddouble pane window.

EXISTING TECHNOLOGY PRIOR TO THE INVENTION

[0003] After over 100-years of development, double pane windows are nowwidely used, thanks to their unique benefits, such as insulation forheat, sound and temperature, safety and comfort, anti-frost anddust-proof configuration, and environmental protection and energy savingbenefits, etc. The German government, for example, stipulates bylegislation that in all buildings double pane windows must be used andsingle pane windows are forbidden. In North America, as much as 95% ofwindows use double pane glass. According to incomplete statistics, useof double pane windows in China has reached over 5 million square metersannually. As living standards continue to improve in China, there willbe a continued increase in popularity of double pane windows in China.

[0004] Multi-layer glass is mainly used for door and window panes. Inorder to block light and for the sake of privacy, the door and/or windowis ordinarily matched with one of various kinds of window curtains.However, typical window curtains hang outside the glass, and thus easilybecome dirty and worn-out, and can be troublesome to wash and clean.

[0005] Because there exists a gap between the window panes, it ispossible to install a curtain inside the window. Under this concept, thecurtain installed inside the double pane window advantageously is notonly useful for light adjustment, but the configuration also helpspreserve the cleanness of the curtain itself. For this reason, thererecently has been rapid development and promotion of use of double panewindows with adjustable curtains installed inside. For example, a largequantity of double pane windows having internal blinds have been placedon the commercial market from Denmark (Nordicon Co.) and Canada (UnicelCo.), and are widely used in various kinds of doors, windows, glasswalls, skylights, etc.

[0006] However, because these prior structures use direct mechanicaltransmissions to manipulate the internal blinds, almost all of them havea sealing problem with respect to the glass panes. Though a solution tothe problem has been developed, the promotion and application of therelated technology has been limited because the solution is complicatedand expensive.

[0007] In China, China Patent No. 95229065, for An IntegratedDoor/Window by Double-layer Glass with Horizontal Shutter InstalledInside has difficulty maintaining a full insulating condition of thedouble-layer glass. As for some other devices—China Patent No. 9721572,for a Magnetically-Driven Layer-Added Adjustable Screen, China PatentNo. 98210257, for a Fully Insulated Shutter, and U.S. Pat. No.5,396,944, for a Device For Operating A Venetian Blind Or The LikePlaced Inside An Insulating Glass Frame—though these all use a magnetictransmission to solve the sealing and insulation problem of multi-layerwindows, they use structures composed of two magnetic pieces sliding butseparated by the glass to achieve motion transmission, and thetransmitted power is limited but with larger movement area needed.Hence, this produces some inconvenience in actual use of these devices.

PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The purpose of the invention is to provide a magnetictransmission system for an adjustable blind installed between panes of amultiple-pane window. The device is able to provide motion transmissionvia a pull cord, to make the curtain installed inside the windowadjustable under full insulation condition, by use of two magneticpieces with a rotating movement that are separated by the glass. Thetransmission power of such a device is large while the working areaneeded is small. The device can effectively control and adjust variouskinds of curtains or blinds installed inside the window via a pull cord.

TECHNOLOGICAL SCHEME OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The invention achieves its purpose in the following ways. Any ofvarious kinds of adjustable curtains or blinds may be installed insidethe multi-layer window as desired. One end of the pull cord is connectedwith the top or bottom of the curtain, and another end of the cord iswound on a wind wheel assembled with a magnetic piece. At thecorresponding position outside the glass exists another similar magneticpiece. With force applied from the outside, these magnetic pieces canrotate within a specified area. Through magnetic force, the magneticpiece inside the window will have the same movement, which will actuatethe pull cord, so the curtain inside the sealed glass can be controlledand adjusted.

[0010] The magnetic transmission system for an adjustable curtaininstalled inside double pane windows provided by the invention issuitable for different adjustable curtain structures in differentsituations and with different requirements inside the double panewindow.

FIGURE DESCRIPTION

[0011] The basic operating mode of the invention will be furtherdescribed with respect to the attached figure:

[0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing the operation of part of amagnetic transmission system that controls and adjusts a curtaininstalled inside a double pane window.

EMBODIED EXAMPLE

[0013] The adjustable blinds installed in an insulated multi-layerwindow comprise a beam (1), a freely rotating long shaft (2) which isassembled inside the beam, a fixed wind wheel (3) and a first magneticwheel (4) assembled on the long shaft, a pull cord (5), and a curtainslat group (6). One end of the pull cord is connected to the bottom slatof the curtain slat group, while the other end of the pull cord is woundon the fixed wind wheel. Outside the window glass or other structure(e.g. the window frame) and at the corresponding position, is a secondmagnetic wheel (7) aligned axially parallel to the first magnetic wheel,and an electric motor and variable speed device (8).

[0014] During operation, the second magnetic wheel (7) located outsidethe glass is driven by the variable speed device (8) through theelectric motor, and rotates clockwise. Inside the window, the firstmagnetic wheel (4), which is axially parallel to the first magneticwheel (7), rotates correspondingly through magnetic interaction, whichin turn, makes the axial wind wheel (3) rotate, and thus winds the pullcord (5), so that the slats in the slat group (6) move up or down.

[0015] One or more sets of additional, similar magnetic transmissionsand pull cord systems can be added to this structure in order to controlaxial rotation of the slats, or to control raising or lowering of thetop slat, so that lighting can be adjusted.

[0016] When needed, two or more sets of magnetic transmissions and pullcord systems can be installed in the same window frame. These may beused to pull the top slat and bottom slat, respectively, of the curtain,so that the curtain can be opened either downwards or upwards, and caneven be opened or closed at any section of the curtain.

[0017] For convenience, and if there is sufficient space inside thedouble pane window, two or more sets of adjustable curtains withmagnetic transmissions and pull cord systems can be installed to achieveother functional adjustments. For example, one set may be used fordaylight adjustment, and the other for night adjustment before going tobed.

[0018] With regard to the adjustable blinds controlled by magnetictransmission as described above, when there is a small distance betweenthe glass panes, sliding adjustable blinds can be used. If the spacebetween the glass panes is sufficient and the blind slats can have freerotation, the slat-rotation-type curtain (i.e. venetian blinds) can beused. Apart from the adjustable blinds, other continuously connectedcurtain structures can be used, such as shutter-screens, folded-screens,or rolling-type curtains, etc. Because the curtain installed inside thedouble pane window will not basically be affected by outside force oroutside ambient conditions, it can be kept clean forever. Therefore,materials for the manufacture of such a curtain can be various light andthin materials, such as metal foils and plastic films, silk cloth andother thin and light materials. Especially when it is used for indoorpurposes, the curtain can be made into various delicate pieces of art orpaintings without worry of becoming dirty or ruined.

[0019] There are multiple modes to drive the magnetic piece locatedoutside of the glass. Referring to the source of power, there are manualpower and electric power. For manual power, a user can pull the pullcord by hand via the wind wheel, in connection with a soft shafttransmission, cross and coupling shaft transmission, and sector geartransmission. All these transmission systems may be installed inside thewindow frame without any component being exposed outside. For electricpower, the driven system is simpler, whether using a direct drive orvariable speed drive, to drive the magnetic piece located outside thewindow to make it rotate.

[0020] It is easy to design and use the system for differentenvironmental and usage demands. For example, for various largerwindows, especially the fixed-type multi-layer floor-to-ceiling windows,glass walls and skylights, etc., a direct motor-driven or variable speeddrive device can be used. Because the transmission power of theinvention is very large and the space needed is very small, it is easyto have remote control and automatic control combined with theinvention. In particular, as all parts and components of the motor andvariable speed device are installed outside the glass, it is veryconvenient for repair and maintenance.

[0021] Thanks to its features, an adjustable curtain employing thepresent invention hopefully can be widely used in different scenarios.First, because the inner space demanded by both the curtain and themagnetic transmission is quite small, it can fully meet the needs of thecurrent standard specifications for double pane windows—the normal innerdistance between panes of standard double pane windows is 6 mm-12 mm,big enough for the curtain to move upwards or downwards, and for themagnetic piece to operate. Additionally, use of the invention will notaffect the production process of the double pane window at all.Secondly, the invention can be used in any type of self-made multi-layerwindows (i.e. non-prefabricated windows produced from scratch on-site)or any scenarios such as large-scale assembled glass doors, glass walls,skylights, etc. What is needed is to put the installed curtain into themulti-layer window, and then to seal it well for insulation. Aftercompletion of the installation of the curtain, the magnetic transmissionsystem together with the driving parts is then installed at a properposition outside the glass. Another feature of the invention is that thematerial of the inside curtain is light and thin with low manufacturingcost and simple structure, and it is not easily worn out and has a longuseful life. In general, compared with other curtains of a similar type,the curtain with use of the invention is superior both in performanceand in price.

[0022] A double pane window with a curtain employing the presentinvention is naturally a desirable combination for various usagescenarios. It not only possesses good insulation performance for heatand sound, but also is more flexible and convenient for light adjustmentwhen rotatable adjustable blinds (i.e. venetian blinds) are used. Forexample, when it is installed for home use, the window itself willpossess the entire window functions, without the need to affix othercurtains and related accessories. And for use in public places, thedouble pane windows that employ the present invention will totally solveproblems that occur to other types of curtains, such as easily becomingdirty, worn-out, poor looking, etc. When it is used for large-scaleglass walls or skylights, it provides good light adjustment andautomation performance superior to any other similar devices availablenow.

1. A manufacturing method for magnetic transmission system used for adjustable curtain installed inside hollow or double-layer glasses. The invention is composed of shutter blade-group (6), pulling thread (5), and wind wheel (3) etc. all of which are installed inside the hollow or double-layer glass. It features at that, the magnetic wheel (4) is fixed on the shaft (2), and separated from the glass or other objective, there is a magnetic wheel (7) located at a corresponding position, axially parallel to the wheel (4).
 2. Based on the description appeared in claim 1, the feature is that the wind wheel (3) is fixed on shaft (2), one end of the pulling thread is connected with the bottom blade of the shutter blade group, and the other end of the pulling thread is wounded on the wind wheel (3).
 3. Based on the description appeared in claims 1 and 2, the feature is that, another set or more sets of the similar magnetic transmission and pulling thread systems can be added to the curtain in order to control bias rotation of the shutter blades and/or lifting/lowering of the top blade.
 4. Based on the description appeared in claims 1 and 2, the feature is that, when needed, two or more sets of the magnetic transmission and pulling thread systems can be set up inside the curtain frame to pull respectively the top or bottom blade of the curtain.
 5. Based on the description appeared in claims 1, 2, 3 and 4, the feature is that, the curtain can be made of various metal foil, plastic film, silk cloth or other light and then materials. 